Kenyans are among trial participants for the Phase III clinical trial of a tuberculosis (TB) vaccine candidate, M72/AS01E (M72), backed by the Wellcome and the Gates Foundation, to the tune of Ksh89 billion.
In a formal statement issued on Wednesday, July 30, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced that it had completed the enrolment of 20,000 trial vaccine participants from various nations, including Kenya. ''The phase III clinical trial of M72/AS01E, a tuberculosis (TB) vaccine candidate originally developed by GSK and sponsored by Gates Medical Research Institute with funding support from the Gates Foundation and Wellcome, has completed full enrollment of 20,000 participants, 11 months ahead of schedule,'' the press statement read in part. ''The trial is taking place at 54 sites across South Africa, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, and Indonesia,'' the statement continued.
An image of philanthropist Bill Gates at a past event.
Wired If successful, M72 might be the first new TB vaccine in more than a century to meet the WHO's target product profile, according to GSK.
